Adaptive assessment and instruction for math and reading in grades K-8

Overview

The i-Ready software package delivers student instruction, performance diagnostics and progress reports based on K-12 Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics and Reading. Students take the i-Ready Diagnostic and receive differentiated online instruction according to their ability, while schools and districts receive customized reports on student performance and progress throughout the year. Schools purchase licenses per subject, per student with discounts available for district-wide and multi-year packages.

Students begin by the program choosing a custom theme before taking the i-Ready subject diagnostic in Mathematics and Reading. The adaptive diagnostic varies in difficulty based on the student’s previous answers: correct answers lead to more challenging questions and incorrect answers lead to easier questions. Immediately following the diagnostic, students work on customized online instruction that includes an interactive lesson, example problems and practice problems by a cast of colorful and diverse online characters. Students earn tokens for completing each lesson, which they can use to play games on the platform.

Throughout the year, the school can choose to offer additional diagnostics with i-Ready Standards Mastery.

In addition to online lessons, i-Ready has developed a series of drills-based iPad apps to complement online instruction. The apps fit into the lesson storyline and include vocabulary, multiplication and division facts, and abstract math. Parents can log into the platform to view student progress and scores on lessons.

i-Ready for Teachers

Teachers receive detailed reports on each student’s diagnostic performance including their overall grade-level in Mathematics and Reading and grade-level for sub-skills in both subjects. Reading sub-skills include Phonological Awareness, Informational Text Comprehension and other language competencies. Math sub-skills include Measurement and Data and Geometry. The diagnostic assigns each student into a profile group based on their diagnostic grade level, which is useful for small group activities and delivering differentiated instruction.

Following the diagnostic, teachers can assign specific lessons to students based on a specific standard or sub-skill. Teachers can download lesson guides from i-Ready that complement individual online instruction.

On the i-Ready dashboard, reports offer insight into which students are below grade level, missing lessons or performing poorly on assessments. Individual student reports also include Lexile (reading level measures) and Quantile (math ability measures). The resources tab provides a user guide for the software and template letters for parents.

i-Ready for School and District Administrators

school and district professionals see a similar view as teachers, but with an expanded report features. District professionals can examine reports from the district level down to individual student records. The school and district specific reports include the number of students on target for grade-level as well as the number of at-risk students by school, grade or class. Schools and districts with multi-year licenses have the ability to perform year-over-year comparisons.

PRICING

Licenses for the i-Ready Diagnostic start at $6 per student, per subject, per year. Licenses for the combination of i-Ready Diagnostic and i-Ready instruction start at $30 per student, per subject, per year. Schools must purchase a minimum of 150 licenses. Schools that purchase district-wide or multi-year licenses may receive a discount. The i-Ready iPad apps are free on the iTunes store. Visit the website for detailed i-Ready pricing information.

Professional development training on how to use the software is available in online, blended and on-site formats. Packages average $2,500 to $3,500 per school site.

RESEARCH

An independent research study by the Educational Research Institute of America found that i-Ready Diagnostic scores predicted actual scores on New York State Math and English Language Arts assessments within one grade level with at least 95% accuracy. A similar independent study at Northwest Missouri State University confirmed that 3rd-grade students using i-Ready in Ohio public schools showed significant improvements on state tests in comparison with those who didn’t use the program.

(In Summit Reflections, educators review tools that they have seen at an EdSurge Tech for Schools Summit. Summit Reflections can only be completed onsite at the event; reviewers are incentivized to leave reviews.)